Romanian referee Andrei Chivulete withdrawn from Europa League after physical test failures

During a July 5‑7 seminar in Mogoșoaia and Buftea, the Romanian Central Referees Commission (CCA) administered theoretical and physical tests to SuperLiga officials. Eight chief referees and seven assistants failed the physical component, including Radu Petrescu, Andrei Chivulete, Horia Mladinovici, Ionuț Coza, Bogdan Dumitrache, Marius Omuț, Ovidiu Mazilu and Cătălin Buși, along with seven assistant referees. They will be retested before receiving match delegations.

UEFA subsequently cancelled Chivulete’s appointment to the Europa League preliminary round match between Žilina (Slovakia) and Hajduk Split (Croatia) scheduled for 16 July, also withdrawing his assistants Radu Ghinguleac and Mircea Grigoriu. The Romanian federation named Horațiu Feșnic as his replacement, assisted by Valentin Avram and Alexandru Corb; Radu Petrescu’s spot was taken by Szabolcs Kovacs. The VAR team, headed by Ovidiu Hațegan with assistant Iulian Dima, remained unchanged.

Former referee Marius Avram described the number of failed tests as “unprecedented” and suggested the intensive three‑day seminar, which required long periods of sitting, may have contributed to the results. The same seminar introduced several new competition rules for the 2026‑27 SuperLiga season, such as a ten‑second limit for player substitutions, a mandatory one‑minute medical timeout, expanded VAR intervention powers and stricter penalties for time‑wasting.